Healthy Banana and Oat Breakfast Muffins

The neighbours from the apartment below us are coming for brunch today - all boys in their 30s. For desert I repeated the cheesecake of last week but for myself I wanted something healthier as a dessert - it is only the second week of January after all and too early to be breaking new year's resolutions.

I had been considering Susan Jane White's banana and peanut butter recipe but using a full jar of peanut butter put me off, however once I had made the muffins below I was thinking how good they would be with some peanut butter added, although maybe not a whole jar!

The muffins are made with wholemeal flour, which has more fibre and nutrients than white flour and agave nectar is used instead of sugar. For those who are lactose intolerant the milk can be replaced by soya milk. One of the great things about this recipe is that you don't even need a weighing scales. Ikea stocks cheap measuring cup sets in their homeware section. Bananas with black spots are perfect for this recipe.

1. preheat oven to 170°c

2. Mix well together the following ingredients in a large bowl; 1 1/2 cups of wholemeal flour, 1 cup of rolled oats, 1/2 cup agave nectar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup sunflower oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 cup of mashed ripe banana and 2 tablespoons of coconut.

3. Pour mixture into prepared muffins cases or well greased muffin tin and make in oven for approx 20 mins. This recipe makes approx eight large muffins or 12 small ones.

These muffins were spot on and go down well with a large mug a Barry's tea!

Tried & Tested: ricotta, apple and cinnamon cheesecake from Eric Lanlard

My sister bought me the Eric Lanlard Home Bake cookbook for Christmas, living in France and not having a TV I had never heard of him, although in the UK he has his own tv shows.

The pictures in the book are lovely and also I like the way he gives you both the prep and cooking time - which helped me to avoid starting a cake I would not finish on time. Although the downside is that that not every recipe is accompanied by a photo so you are not always sure what the final result should resemble.

For a new year's party where I had been asked to bring a dessert I decided to give my new cook book a test run. I chose the cheesecake recipe because the cinnamon gave it a seasonal touch. The instructions were relatively easy to follow if you are regular cook although I am not sure a complete novice would understand what is meant by " base-lining" the baking tin.

The main problem I had, even if living in France, was finding calvados - not stocked in the supermarket so I replaced it with rum. I also used local varieties of apples to those listed in the recipe as they are not available in France. Luckily I was in Scotland when my sister gave me the book and was able to pick up some digestive biscuits for the base, but I guess you could replace with sable biscuits if in France and maybe to add a festive twist substitute half of the digestive biscuits in the base with homemade gingernut biscuits (recipe also in the book).

If like me you like a nice deep biscuit base I would consider doubling the quantity of biscuits and butter required for the based or at least increasing by 50%.

The quantities in the recipe below are unchanged from the book.

You will need:

For the base: 200G digestive biscuits, 75g melted butter.

For the filling: 2 cox's pippins apples, 25g unsalted butter, 1tbsp calvados, 900g ricotta, 150g caster sugar, 50g plain flour, 6 beaten eggs, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping: 1 marges dessert apple, 25g soft light brown sugar, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Utensils: 22cm springform cake tin which has been well greased with butter and the bottom lined with baking paper

Oven: reheat to 180°C

To make

1. The base: Either blitz the biscuits in a food processor or put in large freezer bag and use rolling pin to reduce to crumbs then mix in the melted butter and press mixture evenly into the baking tin and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then take out and let cool and reduce oven to 170°C

2. The filling: While the base is cooling; peel, core and cube the apples. Melt the butter in a pan and saute the apples for several minutes, then add the calvados and set alight to flambe the apples. Allow to cool. In the meantime, put the ricotta in a large bowl and stir to achieve a smooth consistency, stir in the caster sugar and flour and the eggs mixture a little at time making sure that the eggs are well mixed in before introducing more. The add the cinnamon and vanilla and the cooked apple mixture and mix well. Pour mixture into prepared cake tin.

3. The topping: appel and core the dessert apple and cut into thin slices and arrange delicately on top of the mixture before sprinkling over the sugar and cinnamon.

4. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 75 mins - you will know it is done when a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. The leave to cool slightly on wire rack before serving.

5. To serve: "au natural" or with a big dollop of creme fraiche.

perfect for afternoon tea: simple fruit scones

With three french ladies invited for a traditional afternoon I did not want to disappoint. On the menu; cute finger sandwiches of salmon, egg and mayonnaise with chives, and cucumber with cream cheese. The carrot cake - a special request from one of the ladies who had not tasted it since a trip to London years ago, was made, as were the cup cakes and white chocolate muffins. There was only the scones to make, but having my watched my mam magic these up in a flash, I had left them until last.

I got ready all the ingredients and only then did I realise that I was out of baking powder - not easily found in your local Parisian supermarket so I had to leg it to WH Smith - yes you read correctly, in Paris WH Smith stocks a lot more than books! I went in to by a €3 tub of baking powder (no, not a misprint, it is in fact over €3) and came out with 2 books, whole earth organic crunchie peanut butter, 2 books and a tin of heinz organic baked beans! Over €40 exchanged hands....all for some scones for a traditional afternoon tea.

The scones were a big hit and worth the fuss for the baking powder. Himself said they were almost as good as Maggie's (my mam) but not quite...I blame the non availability of buttermilk in Paris and the fact that my supermarket does not stock Kerrygold!

Here is my recipe - buttermilk is better than ordinary milk if you can find it, and the sugar is optional. Personally I prefer mine without and load up on the jam.

You will need: 450g plain flour, 20g baking powder, 30g caster sugar, pinch of salt, 75g of very cold butter (straight from the fridge and cut in cubes) , 2 eggs, 200ml of milk (or butter milk) and 100g of raisins or mix of raisins and confit cherries (cut in half).

Put flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and raisins in a bowl and mix. Rub in the butter - if you have warm hands it is better to use a Knife to cut the butter into the flour mix. I use a stainless steel mixing bowl which I chill in the fridge for 30 mins before using. It may be my imagination but I find this gives a lighter scone. The mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs at this stage.

Next beat the eggs and the milk together with a fork. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and slowly pour some of the egg and milk mixture into the bowl and gentles work into the dry mixture with one hand. You should not need all of the liquid - yo want to create a dough which just comes together without being too wet. Once you have the desired consistency turn out onto a floured surface and gently knead.

Roll out dough using a floured rolling pin until approx 4/5cm thick. Remember always roll from the middle of the pastry and to turn the pastry regularly when rolling.

Then using a 5 cm cookie cutter (I use a small water glass) cut into the dough to make between 10 and 12 scones. Lay the scones on a lightly floured baking tray.

If there is any liquid left over the use this to glaze the scones, otherwise brush them over with some milk. Then bake in a preheated over (230°c) for about 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Once out of the oven leave to cool on a wire rack.

Delicious served with cream and homemade jam or just as I do; still warm with a good layer of Kerry cold butter and a cup of Barry's tea. On a drizzly day in Paris, I can almost believe I am at home.

Photos to follow - the ones that were not quickly gobbled up - left in doggie bags.

time to build up winter defences

vegan pasta pesto salad

vegan pasta pesto salad, a photo by girleatsparis on Flickr.

yesterday's lunch: a vegan pasta salad with wild rocket and pesto made from fresh herbs from the balcony. Replaced the pinenuts and parmesan cheese with roast hazelnuts.

Happy Sunday Morning Wakeup Call!

Need an extra incentive to get you out of bed on Sunday morning after partying the night before ? This juice has everything you need....it will help clear out your system while still giving you the energy you need to make it through Sunday! Himself really needed this kick start this morning!

I always have bananas in the freezer, a tip I picked up from Nigella Lawson, I normally buy them almost black in the discount section in the fruit and veg shop, then chop them up into 2 inch pieces. This means as well that your juice or smoothie is nice and cold without adding ice cubes which can dilute the taste.

(Serves 2 - you can easily freeze half for next Sunday morning!)

You will need a juicer for this recipe.

1 mini water melon or a quarter of a large one

1 tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons fromage blanc (or normal yogurt or soy yogurt or soft tofu)

1 and 1/2 frozen bananas

To make:

First juice the water melon by cutting it into chunks small enough to go in juicer.

Blend with all of the remaining ingredients and serve in a large glass and serve straight away.

While it is better to serve straight away to retain the nutrients - yo can also freeze for later.

Enjoy!

I can't believe it's not a brownie: wheat, dairy and sugar free dessert for an antioxidant high!

I found myself with 3 large ripe organic avocados this weekend I thought about guacamole, avocados filled with prawns or tuna a la 1980s, or a more noughties style salad avocado, watercress with marinated salmon, but none of these floated my boat, I was craving something sweet.

The first avocado went into a smoothie....I kid you not. I juiced four small apples and added a peeled and chopped kiwi, a quarter of a peeled and cubed cucumber, two generous tablespoons of agave syrup (add more to taste) and of course one medium and very ripe avocado, thrown in a handful of ice cubes and whizz it all up. Pour into two glasses and serve, preferably without divulging the ingredients - if pushed admit the apples and kiwi. Himself really liked this smoothie but admitted that not a single drop would have passed his lips had he known about the avocado!

Avocado number two had an even more surprising fate - it ended up in the frosting of a wheat, sugar and dairy free chocolate brownie. If you are going to indulge in a brownie better not to indulge in empty calories but to make them count - this recipe is high in anti oxidants, protein and good fats...although not one for the weight watchers. I invested in the Snog healthy treats cookbook, this was the first recipe that I tried out and was such a success that I plan to work my way though the book. I adapted the recipe slightly by soaking the pecan nuts and dates over night. Pre-soaking the nuts makes them much easier to digest and renders the nutrients more available to the body. Himself has a very sweet tooth so I uped the quanties of agave syrup. It is also very important to use a good quality cocoa - I wouldn't really advise replacing the cocoa with carob powder, cocoa is an excellent source of antioxidants and minerals such as magnesium, it also has ant inflammatory properties but the bottom line is that carob just won't taste as good!

To make the base whizz together in a food processor; 10 medjool dates soaked overnight in water and pitted, 50g of good quality cocoa powder (raw if you can get it), pinch of sea salt; 80ml of agave syrup and 230g of pecan nuts also soaked over night. When the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs and is beginning to stick together press into a 12 x 4 inch flan tin lined with greaseproof paper and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

To make the frosting, whizz together in the food processor 4 medjool dates soaked overnight in water and pitted, 25 g of cacao powder, one medium peeled and stoned avocado, and 80ml of agave syrup and process until smooth.

Spread the frosting evenly over the base and top with a handful of roughly chopped pecans nuts and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. This recipe makes 6 large servings of 18 small bite size squares.

Now I just need to find a recipe for avocado number three....anyone any ideas????